I don't want to make money from street photography

Back in the days I thought I was just too afraid of not being a commercial photographer. But do we always need to turn our passion into a paid job? Yesterday I had a little conversation with a workmate. She works at the lounge area and is taking care of the coffee machine and meals served. She told me about her talent to refurbish old furniture to turn them into little treasures. She showed me some photos and I was blown away by her skills and creativity. The first question I asked her was: "why don't you start a busines?" and she responded: "maybe I outsell my passion and it becomes just ordinary work with too much pressure".

Is it okay to think that way? Is she just afraid of starting a business? I don't think so. There is not one way to do things and we live in a world where nearly everything has a certain value in terms of money. You can easily outsell your whole passion and get sucked into a business thing that will leave you unsatisfied and stuffed with customers, bills and taxes. Trust your inner voice if you really want to start a business. Don't follow other people who did it. It was their decision, not yours. If people telling you that real success is becoming wealthy with you own company they may just have a different definition of what success means for them.



Trust me, there is no black or white. Maybe you can just reduce the hours you spend at work (just ask your boss) and start a smaller version of your business in the spare time and decide later if it feels right to you. There are thousands of possibilities. If you see other people being successful it doesn't mean that it will work for you the same way.

I don't want to start a street photography business. This kind of photography is too personal for me. It is my kind of "Wanderlust" and a kind of meditation. I have the feeling that it should not be taking place in my life as a business.

And don't forget: the most important thing is to not lose your passion by imitating what other people do. Get inspired by the work of other people.

Cheers,

Nils


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